LAUSANNE, June 24 — Coca-Cola and Chinese dairy firm Mengniu have signed a deal to become joint sponsors of the Olympic Games from 2021 to 2032, IOC chief Thomas Bach announced today.

Neither the International Olympic Committee nor the two companies involved disclosed the size of the deal but the agreement is the first ever joint partnership under the Olympic TOP programme, the highest level of Olympic sponsorship, Bach added.

"Having our longest-standing partner, Coca-Cola, an iconic American brand, together with a young Chinese company, Mengniu, joining hands under the roof of our Worldwide TOP Programme is a great example of the unifying power of the Olympic spirit,” said Bach.

"This partnership will give another dimension to the promotion of the Olympic values around the world.”

The agreement was unveiled in Lausanne ahead of the opening of the IOC session later today in which the IOC will choose the host city for the 2026 Winter Olympics, with two candidates in the running, Milan/Cortina of Italy and Sweden’s Stockholm/Are. — AFP